Commentary on transportation in Connecticut and the Northeast by JIM CAMERON, for 19 years a member of the CT Rail Commuter Council.
Jim is also the founder of a new advocacy effort: www.CommuterActionGroup.org
Disclaimer: his comments are only his own. All contents of this blog are (c) Cameron Communications Inc

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July 30, 2012

“The Bicycle Revolution”

In
the seven years I’ve been writing this column, I’ve offered my views on
everything from trains and planes to trolleys and trucks.But I’ve missed out on a major revolution in
personal transport: the bicycle.

Now
personally, I’d sooner travel by limo than be perched on a bicycle seat,
exposed to the elements, but that’s just me.Mine is not the generation that’s moving from four wheels to two.

And
admittedly, the suburbs of Connecticut are not bike-friendly, but that too is slowly
changing.So this week’s column is a
chance to play catch-up on how bicycles are integrating into our transportation
network and the work that’s still to be done.

BIKES ON TRAINS:Now
that we have more rail cars (and seats for all paying passengers), it’s time to
hold CDOT to its promise of developing (not just testing) bike
storage hanger-racks on our trains.Especially for people traveling intra-state, being able to bring your
bike with you makes sense.And all
trains should accommodate bikes, not just those in off-peak.

BIKES AT STATIONS:For
those who want to ride to the train station and leave their bikes there, we
need more and more-secure bike
racks and lockers at stations.Westport has some great bike
lockers, but most other stations lack this critical amenity.Biking to the station doesn’t require a seven
year wait for a parking permit, but it does require a safe place to lock your
bike.

BIKES ON BUSES:This
was an early win for bikers as most local buses now carry bikes on
front-mounted racks.(And no, that would
never work on Metro-North trains.)Bus
racks give bike commuters visibility and a secure ride for longer trips.

BIKES ON THE ROAD:If
bikers and
drivers must share the same right-of-way, they’ve got to respect each
other.Car-centric drivers are often to
blame for accidents, but so too sometimes are aggressive bikers.New York City has even started a remedial
bike riders’ course for offenders to teach them what stop signs and red
lights mean.Better lane markings,
signals and ways of separating cars and bikes should make both camps happy and
safe.

BIKE PATHS / LANES:By
law, a 1% set-aside in highway spending goes to what’s called “bike-ped”
access… building sidewalks and bike-lanes.Compared to rails and roads, building bike paths and lanes is
cheap.But in our car-centric state, we
need to do more.

BIKES AT WORK:If
we’re going to encourage people to bike to their jobs, they need a secure place
to lock their wheels during the day… and maybe a place to shower and clean-up.

BIKE SHARING:Many
cities offer racks of bikes available for pick-up and drop-off at nominal
rates.NYC Bike Share will be among the
biggest when it finally gets going, offering 600
stations and 10,000 bikes.But
“software” problems are delaying the rollout, which should have started a month
ago. The city hopes to offer 1800 bike-lane miles by 2030, rivaling even Paris.

BIKE ADVOCATES:Here’s
more good news.The folks who ride bikes
by choice are well organized and very vocal.They’re even found official representation in State government with a CT Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board
within the CDOT. And in towns and cities large and small there are numerous
bike clubs and organizations that can help you get started.

Bicycles
may never replace cars or trains, but they are a common sense alternative for
many of our transportation needs and need public support.

1 comment:

Thank you for your column on bicycles! New York, New Haven, and Fairfield have made some excellent investments in bicycle infrastructure (racks, lanes, safety education). Let's get more towns to do this.

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Former NBC News director and anchor, now a professional communications consultant, JIM CAMERON leads workshops on media training, speech and presentations skills and preps clients for analyst briefings and legislative testimony.
Jim served for 19 years on the CT Metro-North Rail Commuter Council, is an elected member of the Darien Representative Town Meeting (RTM) and is Program Director of Darien TV79, his town's government TV station.